NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Frank Siller completed his incredible, 500-mile walk from the Pentagon to Ground Zero on Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his firefighter brother’s death on 9/11.
Siller, brother of late FDNY firefighter, Stephen, and founder of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, walked through six states over six weeks to honor all first responders who died in the terror attack.
“Personally, I wish he was alive and we didn’t have to go through these things—but that’s not the reality; he gave his live and we’re so proud of what he did,” Siller said of his youngest brother. “So that’s why we’re doing what we do.”
The 68-year-old Siller embarked on the “Never Forget Walk” to raise awareness of, and funding for, the Tunnel to Towers’ mission to help the families of fallen first responders. He said he had come across police officers and firefighters waiting at rural intersections to offer him support.
He made stops at the Pentagon, Shanksville and Ground Zero. On Saturday morning, Siller ended his walk by following in the footsteps of his firefighter brother, who was off-duty when he ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in full FDNY gear to get to the World Trade Center, where he was killed.
"I feel proud that I got it done, I wanted to honor my youngest brother... and what better way than to go to the three locations that had unbelievable loss of life 20 years ago," Siller told WCBS 880. "This morning I retraced his final heroic footsteps that he did 20 years ago."
“I’m sure he would do it all over again if he was given the choice: to go save somebody and give up his life, or to run away from danger — he wouldn’t run away from danger,” Siller said.
